Burning Serendipity
by Martha Siriusly
Summary: No one questions that Draco Malfoy is now changed man. But all that will change when Bellatrix Lestrange returns, blood-thirsty as ever, seeking vengeance. Only one person is willing to stand by him, as his dark mark burns in the middle of the ministry.


_A/N: This DraMione fic is post-Hogwarts, but the epilogue in Deathly Hallows is not considered. I am trying to keep the characters _in character, _so don't count on fluff until farther in the fic. It is currently rated T, because it's a bit suggestive, but not explicit. But be warned that that can soon change to M. I hope you enjoy! _

_Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs solely to our beloved queen, JK Rowling._

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Assemblage<strong>

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><p>He managed something close to a smile, but it only made her feel even more uncomfortable. If it were any other day, Draco Malfoy was sure his smile would not have been so strained and his annoyance so unjustifiable. For once, his mother had set him up on a descent date. It was a shame it landed on this day. His dates, usually set up by Blaise, were merely presets for one-night-stands. His mother was insistent on getting him into a "proper relationship", but he hardly ever gave her suggestions a chance. They were all part of notable families, and he wouldn't dare get himself on the papers and ruin the reputation he tried so hard to rebuild. He would have to be all too careful about what he said and did if he gave into his mother's recommendations. But this time, he agreed to meet Astoria Greengrass because <em>the day <em>was coming and he didn't like having to deal with her when she was upset. So there he was now, in an overpriced, dimly lit restaurant, while his mother was sure to be off elsewhere spending ridiculous amounts of money to get her mind off _the day._

He cleared his throat and swallowed what was left of his wine. "I'm sorry, Daphne." He mumbled.

"Astoria," the girl corrected him patiently. He was about to utter an apology for screwing up her name for the third time that afternoon, but she said, "Don't worry; I've been on dates where men don't even remember my name." Her sister, Daphne had been something of a striker during her years at Hogwarts, and Astoria was quite accustomed to her fellow Slytherins making the common mistake of her for her sister.

Draco sighed, "Astoria," he repeated slowly, slightly annoyed at being corrected, although he had no descent right to be. "Maybe I should take you home." He stood up abruptly reaching into his trouser pockets for his wallet, and knocking over an empty glass on the table. He cursed aloud and a few heads turned to see who had made the impolite comment. He only scowled, cursed under his breath again, and ended up leaving more money on the table than the lunch had cost. He maneuvered around the awkward arrangement of the restaurant, leaving hastily. After a second of hesitation, she followed him out.

On their way back to her parents' manor, Astoria attempted to politely ask him what was wrong, but took the hint to keep silent once he let out an exasperated, "oh for _Merlin's sake_, mind your own bloody business!" He didn't notice she flinched when he said this, nor would he have cared. Draco didn't notice a lot of things that day, because his mind was elsewhere. He was agitated, angry and even worried at the vexing date on the calendar.

Once they made it to her family manor, only out of politeness did Astoria ask him to stay for tea. Merlin knew that was the last thing she wanted to do – especially with such an unpleasant gentleman, despite his ridiculously good looks and family wealth… Luckily for her, he didn't have the patience to deal with sitting through an elongated chat with her parents or other such nonsense, either. He wanted to get home as soon as possible. So he replied with a blunt, "no," and a cold expression that matched her mutual feelings for the idea. She had returned a scowl, and an irritated tone "you can't apparate from inside, so help yourself to some flew." She practically pushed Draco into the fireplace and threw the powder in herself, she was so annoyed. It was the equivalent to muggles slamming doors in each other's faces.

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><p>"Hermione!" the redhead prodded, "I know it's been awhile since stayed at The Burrow, but I didn't think you'd forget we always have breakfast before noon!"<p>

Hermione offered an annoyed groan but made an effort with opening her eyes. Ginny was still in her pajamas, but she seemed wide awake, her hair cropped and looking more like Mrs. Weasley than Hermione could remember. The brunette took a look around and saw that Harry and Ron had already left. "Where are Ron and Harry?" She asked, her lids still heavy. By now Ginny was taking her by the arm and dragging her seemingly limp body down the stairs.

"They already ate. They left to go play some quidditch with George and Bill." Hermione made her way down the stairs (still with Ginny's help) with her eyes completely closed. Only when they reached the foot of the stairs did she try to open them again. She could smell the aroma of Mrs. Weasley's famous bacon and eggs from the kitchen and her stomach growled loudly.

"You girls finally up?" said Mrs. Weasley wiping her hands on her apron that looked rather worn out by ten in the morning. "Hermione, dear, your owl came back today. I told Ron to feed her something, but you might want to check just in case."

Hermione went to check on her owl, fed it some extra seeds, and made a mental note to buy more food on their shopping trip in Diagon Ally later that day. Crookshanks didn't get on too well with her new owl, and Hermione thought he was simply jealous. He would ignore her for a good while when she fed the owl, and only stopped being so cold when she fed him his favorite treats.

Despite the fact that the rest of the day went at a leisurely pace, Hermione got a lot done. She and Ginny went to Diagon to pick up a few supplies for her new office and had a nice lunch. It's been five years since she had graduated Hogwarts, and now she was a successful auror running her very own organization: S.P.E.W.

Of course she still isn't satisfied with the laws regarding the house elves, but she's raised enough awareness that Hogwarts elves have gotten "benefits" for their work. Hermione liked her profession so far and wouldn't switch careers any time soon. She worked with Ron and Harry, Ginny, and sometimes even Luna. Luna was a healer, but her time was spent away from St. Mungo's. Most of her cases were on crime scenes, so she spent as much time with the aurors as they did with each other. Although in a different wing, Neville stopped by to say hello often. Hermione saw her friends frequently – in fact, she hardly ever had a day without them, not including summer days spent with her parents. She lived by herself in her own flat, but she hardly ever did anything there but sleep.

Hermione and Ron broke up once she finished her seventh year at Hogwarts. He and Harry didn't accompany her that last year and went straight into being aurors. Everyone had thought Hermione called it off, that being the more likely thing to have happened. But it was Ron who voiced the idea first. They've both dated a few different people since then, but nothing ever got too serious for Hermione. Hermione was jealous at first, and it was definitely a weird feeling for the both of them. Mrs. Weasley never seemed pleased with any of the other girls and it made Hermione feel strangely satisfied and something close to superior.

But they both did get older and their childhood crush never matured into something bigger. They accepted it, even when the press seemed to have felt quite the opposite.

Hermione and Ron received dozens of letters daily after the breakup. Some letters were sympathizing (but for the wrong reasons). And some were dreadful and hateful to read. At one point, it had gotten so out of hand that they had to make an announcement together that the breakup was mutual and that they were still very good friends – which was the complete truth, and anyone could see it, because Hermione spent a lot of time with him and all her friends. The topic took a long time to die out and the letters only completely stopped once Hermione blackmailed Rita Skeeter into writing an article (secretly written by Hermione herself) about what the relationship was really like and why people should sod off before she hexed the entire country.

When they arrived back at The Burrow, Mr. Weasley announced that Charlie was coming to visit his family and to introduce them to "a friend" he had met at a bar in Romania in just a few days. As expected, Mrs. Weasley was out of her mind trying to tidy up the house.

"Bill," Mr. Weasley said, "I know Fleur is with her family for the day, but why don't you owl her to see if she can come by when Charlie's home."

It was reaching the end of August, and Hermione had two weeks off and wouldn't be going back until early September. She had spent the first week with her parents on a vacation somewhere in Australia. It seems like they've gotten rather fond of the place even once she had restored their memories and they moved back to London.

After a homely dinner that evening, everyone (knowing better than to wait to be asked) helped Mrs. Weasley clean up. Ron and George, who were terrible with the cleaning charms, had been ordered to go pick up some potions and owl food back in Diagon Ally. On their way out, Ron called back, "Oi, Hermione! You've got an owl!"

She went over to examine the unfamiliar owl. After untying the ridiculously knotted knot, she fed it with whatever seeds she had left and gave it some water while she read the letter.

_Hermione,_

_ It's Luna. I'm borrowing the owl. Meet me at St. Mungo's as soon as possible. Bring Ginny, if you must,but no one else._

_ With urgency (and of course love),_

_ Luna Lovegood_

Hermione stared back at peculiar note. She turned back to see that everyone was heading to the fire for tea before bed. Ginny held back patiently, waiting for Hermione. When the brunette caught up, Ginny said, "Wasn't that a _Malfoy_ owl?"

"What? No no, it was a note from Luna." She muttered, still inspecting the small parchment. "She says we need to meet her at St. Mungo's as soon as possible. But we can't bring anyone else." They got to the fireplace, but Hermione didn't plan on staying. "Luna just owled me," she said. She didn't question or even think about how Ginny had known it was a Malfoy's owl.

"She says me and Hermione have got to meet her at St. Mungo's," said Ginny. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley seemed curious, but Bill and Harry muttered an "alright" together, and went back to talking about quidditch.

"Is everything alright, dear?" asked Mrs. Weasley, but she hardly seemed worried.

"Yes," answered Ginny, "it's just some auror paper work she's wanted us to go over. I forgot to get back to her." The Weasley daughter didn't quite know why she had just lied. But she supposed telling everyone Hermione had received an owl from Luna saying they had to meet her at St. Mungo's as soon as possible and to not bring anyone else would sound rather troubling.

"Don't be too late," Mrs. Weasley said out of habit, "and be safe."

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><p>They apparated to the front desk and saw spotted Luna straight away. Her bushy blonde mane was tied into a neat bun, but her uniform significantly disheveled. She was pacing back and forth and only stopped after she saw Hermione and Ginny approaching her.<p>

"Oh hello, Hermione! Ginny!" she greeted happily, "what are you doing here?"

Hermione raised a brow, "Uh Luna, you owled us and told us to meet you here."

Luna's eyes brightened, "Oh yes! I forgot why I was feeling restless!"

Ginny gave Hermione a puzzled look and then asked, "What's the crisis, Luna?"

The former Ravenclaw shook her head, her face abruptly turned solemn. "Follow me," she urged and quickly made her way past the bustling healers. Hermione didn't think twice and followed Luna with Ginny at her side down the brightly lit corridors. Luna was walking abnormally fast, but her face brightened again. She would make sharp turns every few hallways, and Hermione became just a little agitated.

Finally, they reached a wide sliding door. "Uh, Luna." said Ginny, "why are we in the 'newborn infants' wing?"

Luna's bright face was giddy and excited, like a child waiting to be presented with a jar full of chocolate frogs. She pressed her index finger against her lips and whispered, "shhh, they're sleeping."

The former Gryffindors exchanged another puzzled look before tiptoeing in behind her. There were about six newborn infants, all sound asleep except for a single one. The sleepless child at the end of the room was squirming restively in his crib. He looked worn out and malnourished.

"Someone left him on the hospital doorstep," whispered Luna. "there was a note, but we didn't open it. It was addressed to you, Hermione. We had to send it down to the auror's office, and It think Neville will be look at it – standard protocol for infants abandoned at the hospital. To check for hexes and such."

Hermione barely heard what Luna was saying and was staring at the child intently who stared right back at her with its dull brown eyes. It didn't seem too dazed, like most newborn infants who could hardly see. Its pupils seemed rather concentrated, and she suddenly knew this was no normal child – even for a wizard. Within a few seconds, its face contorted and gave a loud, tearful shriek that made the other babies wake. Ginny placed a quick silencing charm around the cribs, but they were all out of control already.

Suddenly, Hermione lost focus and the room began spinning. The vein on her neck pulsated at an intense speed and she felt something like a hundred sharp needles stabbing at her knuckles repeatedly. She guessed that the anxious voices were coming from Ginny and Luna, but her spiraling head could only understand that she was in pain and not much else. She could not comprehend or even hear the simple orders when Luna told her to stand up. Or move her fingers or blink if she could hear them. She could not even understand her fear when a loathsome, crackling voice screeched _Mudblood!_

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><p>Once in the comfort of his own flat, Draco let out a breath he did not know he had been holding. He headed straight for kitchen and reached for one of the unopened bottles of firewhiskey. He didn't even put in the effort of getting a shot glass. With a wave of his wand, he popped opened the cork and pressed the thick rim of the glass bottle to his lips. This week had been hell, and the date was a bloody disaster. Normally, he didn't care at all for dates – only what came after – but he was sure his mother would be bombarding him with questions. She had been especially excited about this one, because she and the Greengrass mother were gossiping friends.<p>

He thought about heading over to the Greengrass manor itself the next morning to apologize, but he decided against it. He was Malfoy, for Merlin's sake. There was his pride to think about, of course. Besides, there were more pressing matters to deal with. That's not including his plan to "catch up" with Pansy Parkinson.

And even if he hadn't decided against it, it still would have impossible. Although there was no way he could of known it, the unfortunate time Astoria Greengrass was maddened by his infuriating personality, causing her to throw him out of her house with a dignified shove into the fireplace, would be the last time he ever saw her. Alive, anyway...

He had emptied half the bottle when he heard someone entering through his fireplace by floo powder. His guess of who it was proved correct when Blaise Zabini carelessly walked into the kitchen. "Back at that again, are we?" he said disapprovingly, motioning towards the firewhiskey.

"Well if you had any idea what I've been through this bloody week, you wouldn't be running your mouth, Zabini." Draco retorted, but he pushed the bottle aside nonetheless. "Let's get this fucking over with, Pansy's been waiting for us for half an hour."

Blaise flashed a smirk, "You don't seem too eager, do you Malfoy? And earlier Pansy's been mentioning how much she's looking forward to seeing you."

Draco scoffed, "It's not Pansy," he stuck the firewhiskey back onto the shelf, "I'm just not looking forward to seeing Gamp." Jermias Gamp was fifteen years their senior and was now indifferently married to Pansy Parkinson (who decided she very much liked her maiden name and would not change it to _Gamp_). He had a square face and sunken eyes and teeth that resembled that of Marcus Flint – crooked, stained, and simply _gross._

Malfoy considered himself even more pleasant of a person than Jermias, if only just to look at. Jermias was still intact with the "old ways" and played large parts in anti-Mudblood campaigns – mainly funding them. He was a very wealthy man, so Pansy hardly thought twice about her answer when he proposed to her. If Draco could remember correctly, they dated no more than a month before Pansy sent an owl to her fellow Slytherins inviting them all to her wedding extraordinaire.

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><p>It was around nine when Malfoy and Zabini arrived at the manor. They knew where to go once they stepped out of the fire, so they casually made their way through without the house elves' help. They only expected to see and Pansy Gamp in the sitting room, but apparently Pansy had invited more people than they anticipated. As they entered, Draco recognized some familiar faces. There were about ten other people not including himself, Blaise, Pansy and Gamp.<p>

He recognized Daphne Greengrass (the sister of the girl he rudely ended a date with earlier that day), her husband Adrian Pucey, Marcus Flint, Millicent Bulstrode, Evelyn Rosier, and Gregory Goyle. The other four people he did not know. They were talking about this and that, and nothing neither Draco nor Blaised deemed important. The other guests did not hear them as they arrived, so Blaise cleared his throat loudly. Pansy was the first to shoot up from her seat, "Oh Blaise, Draco! It's good to see you." She shuffled towards them through her expensive silk robes. She planted kisses on their cheeks, and the rest of their familiar classmates greeted them pleasantly. The other four people, three men and a woman, seemed uninterested and went along talking amongst themselves. They seemed older, so it was probably safe to guess they were from Gamp's year. It was a Slytherin reunion.

Gamp looked up and gave a curt nod in their direction, but did not get up to give a proper greeting. "Don't mind him," Pansy muttered, slightly bothered, "he just hasn't had any firewhiskey and is suffering from, what did the healers call it… oh yes, withdrawal." Draco had a sudden sympathy for the man, but decided it wasn't worth taking notice when he heard him tell his friends, "I'd rather Malfoy wasn't here, but my wife was insistent."

Draco was not up for dealing with inefficient wizards, especially on this day. Of course, no one would know to be more careful with what they said to him, because he hasn't brought it up in five years. But today was the death anniversary of his father. He should be with his mother, but she liked being alone those days too. A week before _the date_ every year, she would fly off to Paris and go on holiday. She would owl him once or twice during her week-long trips to tell him she was alright, but the letters never mentioned Lucius. The pair hardly mentioned him at all. Not in front of each other, anyway.

"Alright there, Draco?" inquired Adrian Pucey, handing him a glass of firewhiskey and another one to Blaise. Pansy and Daphne had scuttled off by then, and the group had scattered after their greetings.

Draco gave his signature smirk, "Now I am," he said before immediately downing the glass. "But I'm not too sure how long a glass will last."

Adrian laughed, "I think you're quite right," he said, as Daphne made her way towards them again. She seemed pleasant enough and Draco silently hoped that she and her younger sister had not said anything about him earlier. "Blaise, we've heard from you the least," Pucey commented, "how've you been?"

"Fine," Zabini said, taking another sip of firewhiskey. He figured he should be politer, so he added, "and yourselves?"

Daphne smiled, "quite well." She leaned against Adrian, slightly off balance – but Draco figured it looked more like from fatigue than too much to drink. Her husband put an arm around her protectively, and Draco did not know why his natural instinct was to grimace at the scene. "I'm hoping Jermias will start soon, it's getting rather late."

Most of the company was wondering the same thing – when the event was going to start. But Malfoy had a funny feeling he was the only one that was wondering why exactly they were there, while everyone worried about when it was going to start. Blaise had just dragged him along, and Pansy had persisted on him coming because she wanted to catch up. He had been putting off plans to see her for quite a while now, and figured it would good to try having company on days he thought he'd rather be miserable alone.

"I've heard you're working with the Ministry now, aren't you?" Daphne asked, simply to make conversation. But Draco felt something close to relieved to hear that her words weren't laced with any kind of disapproving disappointment that a former ally of death eaters would ever dream of working with the ministry.

"Yes," he replied.

"Oh," piped up Adrian, "do you work with the aurors often? I have a friend who works as an auror, but he was a ravenclaw. I don't know if you would know him."

Draco snorted, "Hardly," Of all the Slytherins, he should've guessed Adrian Pucey was the one to associate himself with the Ravenclaws. But he figured at least it wasn't a Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. "I work mainly with business, and handling the fines paid to the ministry. I wouldn't dream of working with the _golden trio_. All three of them are bloody aurors." Draco rarely ran into them, but when he did, not much conversation was exchanged. He didn't have a particular problem with Ginny Weasley, however, so if he ever had to work with someone in their department, it would be her. Other than her flaming red hair, he knew very little about her and could hardly remember her from their years at Hogwarts. It was easier to work with her because things were always kept at a professional level, and he only needed to pretend he did not know her at all. She never brought up Potter, or her Weasel brother, or the Gryffindor know-it-all. He avoided the golden trio at all costs and only dropped off necessary information to the secretary to deliver. His method of avoiding them worked quite well for five years, although he couldn't take all the credit. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sure did their very best to ignore Malfoy when they saw him. But they avoided each other all the same.

Another hour into the unplanned reunion and Draco was about to tell Pansy that he had to leave, when they all heard Jermias Gamp tell them all to "shut their bloody mouths" so he could talk. Seeing that they were all in his home, they held in their retorts for his rude remark. His voice was raspy, but strangely high. "You've all been called here, because I have an announcement to make."

"Really," Draco murmured sarcastically and Blaise snorted. Gamp glared in their direction, but made no comment.

"My wife, Pansy, and I," he continued, "are inviting you to help us participate in the turn of the decade." Everyone was listening intently now, and Gamp's friends seemed almost beside themselves. "We're inviting you to help us aid death eaters who had gone into hiding since the Battle of Howarts." The room went still, but the older wizards and witches could barely hold in their excitement. He went on. "The Dark Lord has indeed fallen, however -"

Adrian Pucey straightened up, looking like he wanted to say something but decided against it. Gamp seemed to have noticed this, but did not address it right away. Instead, he made a gesture for Pansy to stand beside him. "We have made our choice to stand by our new leader, to aid her return."

"_Her?"_ Draco thought.

Pansy looked a bit nervous, but she stood grounded by her husband as he said, "We invite you. We _urge _you to stand at our sides as loyal as ever before. It is our only desire for the new generation of prestigious families to come forth and help us in aiding and celebrating the return of Bellatrix Lestrange."

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Well, that's my first chapter for my first DraMione fic! I hope you enjoyed it. Please be sure to review! :)

**OC Characters: **Evelyn Rosier - is the daughter of Evan Rosier who was killed by Alastor Moody while trying to resist aurors. Evan Rosier might be the son of Rosier who was part of Tom Riddle's gang back in the day. Purebloods, of course.

Jermias Gamp - Is also a pureblood. The Gamps are related to the Blacks and distantly to the Prewetts and Macmillans.

Unnamed Friends of Gamp - Three older wizards and one older witch who went to Hogwarts during Gamp's time. We'll learn more about them later on in the story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Harry Potter_. Obviously, _Harry Potter_ is the creation of our talented and beloved queen, JK Rowling.


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